Reports

This report seeks to understand quality care from a unique perspective; the individual receiving or accessing paid care services and support in their own home. The Consumer Voice convened interviews, surveys, and a national focus group to determine how consumers define quality care, pinpoint needed care improvements and recommend policy actions to provide more access to quality home care. This report provides consumers with an opportunity to speak out and contribute to shaping the policies.

This study challenges the common perception of family caregiving as a set of personal care and household chores that most adults already do or can easily master. The major shift is that the role of family caregivers has dramatically expanded to include performing medical/nursing tasks of the kind and complexity once only provided in hospitals. The findings highlight an urgent need for both individual and collective action. The report makes ten recommendations to support the current caregivers.

This report is an update of an earlier report, "Americans with Disabilities: 2005." The 2010 findings indicate that approximately 56.7 million Americans have a disability, an increase of 2.2 million since 2005. Additionally, the number and percentage of Americans with a severe disability also increased. This document also presents descriptive statistics about disability prevalence and economic conditions of the people with disabilities.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is the largest source of federally-funded employment and training services. WIA allows states to apply for waivers of WIA regulations to provide greater flexibility in serving the needs of local populations. The Department of Labor approved more than 750 state-requested waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements between 2008-2010. This report evaluates selected waivers during the time period to examine the possible effects of waiver implementation.

What actions states are taking to implement the Medicaid expansion? Specifically, the report addresses the following questions: (1) What are the states' responsibilities for implementing the Medicaid expansion? (2) What actions have selected states taken to prepare for the Medicaid expansion, and what challenges have they encountered?, and (3) What are states' views on the fiscal implications of the Medicaid expansion on state budget planning?

The Senate Finance Committee asked GAO to analyze states' requirements and practices for assessing the financial eligibility of applicants for Medicaid long-term care coverage. This report presents findings on the extent to which states (1) require documentation on assets from applicants, (2) obtain information from third parties to verify applicants' assets, and (3) obtain information about applicants' assets that could be used to implement eligibility-related DRA provisions.

Coordination of care activities and concepts include common cross-cutting themes. This report puts forth information regarding components of interventions that should be considered in the design, ongoing operation, and evaluation phases of most coordination of care efforts. It includes definitions, descriptions of funding programs, clinical programs, frameworks, and other state- and federal-level initiatives. The report pays particular attention to efforts germane to behavioral health disorders.

This report finds common themes between African American and Hispanic family caregivers and also between the nurses and social workers. The report suggests ways to improve collaboration and communication between families and professionals. Explores the needs of African American and Hispanic family caregivers, finding common themes between the two groups and also between the nurses and social workers.

Published for the past 18 years, the Across the States series was developed to help inform policy discussions among public and private sector leaders in long-term services and supports throughout the U.S. Across the States 2012 presents comparable state-level and national data for more than 140 indicators, drawn together from a wide variety of sources into a single reference. This publication presents up-to-date data and is displayed in easy-to-use maps, graphics, tables, and state profiles.

This report is designed to offer the collective wisdom and practical insights of state officials and technical experts related to the leadership and interagency coordination needed to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It discusses the role of leadership and a clear vision for reform, and outlines specific strategies being used by states from low-tech solutions to higher-tech tools. This brief then explores the potential of work planning and formal memorandums of understanding (MOUs).